Relaxing my Grip

[Brite1]

Hey guys,

I'm new to forum and looking for some help on tips for relaxing my grip. I'm fairly new to bowling, but was in a for fun league over the last summer as well as a couples league every other weekend this fall and winter. Add in a few random nights of practice, once or twice a week.

The big issue I think I'm having, is the old ball I was using (an old purple Rhino Pro from my dad) wasn't fitted to me correctly. As a result I had to hold on for dear life in order to stop dropping the ball on my backswing.

I recently purchased a new ball (Colmbia 300 Raw Urge), on the recommendation from my driller(he actually gave me a few balls to choose from that were recently discontinued, to help with the cost, as well as options to help provide more hook). I'm thinking having this new ball that actually fits should help with my grip issues.

I have only been able to throw a few games so far with the Raw Urge, but am noticing I still tend to over grip. I'm guessing this is just a habit I've developed, but wondering if there are any tricks to convince my brain that it doesn't need to use the death grip.

Any help is much appreciated.

Thanks.

[MickeyOliverLee]

Hey guys,

I'm new to forum and looking for some help on tips for relaxing my grip. I'm fairly new to bowling, but was in a for fun league over the last summer as well as a couples league every other weekend this fall and winter. Add in a few random nights of practice, once or twice a week.

The big issue I think I'm having, is the old ball I was using (an old purple Rhino Pro from my dad) wasn't fitted to me correctly. As a result I had to hold on for dear life in order to stop dropping the ball on my backswing.

I recently purchased a new ball (Colmbia 300 Raw Urge), on the recommendation from my driller(he actually gave me a few balls to choose from that were recently discontinued, to help with the cost, as well as options to help provide more hook). I'm thinking having this new ball that actually fits should help with my grip issues.

I have only been able to throw a few games so far with the Raw Urge, but am noticing I still tend to over grip. I'm guessing this is just a habit I've developed, but wondering if there are any tricks to convince my brain that it doesn't need to use the death grip.

Any help is much appreciated.

Thanks.

I used to have grip pressure problems too, my ball was drilled for my hand but the thumb hole was far too big. Maybe have an experience bowler/another PSO to look at your grip if see you have a similar issue, but if it doesn't, people usually recommend using tape (the white texturised ones).

A few games is way too few to determine if it's a residual habit, I personally take weeks to get rid of those.

If your thumb hole is small enough that you wouldn't be able to release it when you grip it, the habit will go away eventually because the feeling is absolutely terrifying. That was probably the worst stage of my bowling life so far, but I got there eventually.

There are also other products that helps your grip, cremes and rosin bags (for increasing grip I recommend the meshy balls, they tend to be grittier) etc.

[J Anderson]

You could try tiered taping in the thumb hole. I haven't figured out how to copy/paste with a tablet, but you should be able to search this site and find a link to a Joe Slowinski article on the subject.

[michiganbowlingcoach]

Old habits are hard to break. With that said make sure you DON'T ask your pro shop to open the thumb hole! Learn to release with little/squeezing grip pressure and.... you will learn. The more you roll the ball with the new span the more you will relax . Remember you must let go of the ball to strike so just it fall off the front of your hand.

Bowling Knowledge's Tiered Taping Directions -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tynDuZljFzE

[Brite1]

Thanks for the advice so far everyone. Going to get the thumb hole drilled larger is definitely not something I plan to do. having too large of a thumb hole was part of what got this habit started in the first place. For now I'm hoping with some practice and repetitions, maybe that will help to break me of it. Thinking that especially with the thumb hole actually being the correct size, my brain will just start to get used to the idea that the ball will stay put without the added grip pressure.

[Hammer]

As far as gripping with your thumb always grip with the knuckle down to the base of your thumb and not a tight grip. Never use the tip of your thumb to grip the ball because doing that will cause your thumb knuckle to raise up and then if you are holding on tight your thumb will hang up in the ball then you will end up with pulled shots.

[KYDave]

And this is a big reason why I changed to switch grips. My thumb changes size quite a bit and I can just pick the thumb that fits. I have also gone to a little less reverse pitch and a slight increase in span. So far all the changes have really helped. It was at a point where I would have to use 9 pieces of tape to snug up the thumb hole. I actually started dumping the ball because it was coming off so much faster than I was used to.

[LOUVIT]

I had the same issue after my 25 year comeback and was always pulling the ball due to it. I practiced and only concentrated on that and nothing else. It;s starting to become a habit to just relax my hand...I also had a 1/4" back pitch in the thumb hole so it comes out easier

[AlexNC]

When I was getting into bowling, it helped me to take the full approach out of the equation for a bit. I would get into position at the foul line and see how it felt to roll the ball staying relaxed without the other distractions. One step drills were also really helpful. This is secondary to having a good fit/snug thumbhole.